This disclosure relates generally to a driving unit for propelling a vehicle, and more particularly to a propeller driving assembly for rotating a propeller of a vehicle at different speeds having an automatic shifting mechanism.
Typically, a marine engine is connected to a propeller through a gear box. The engine drives the propeller and the speed of the propeller is proportional to the speed of the engine. The propeller is capable of spinning at a speed over a particular range. However, there are various tradeoffs in engine designs that need to be considered. An engine designed for maximum speed does not provide low speed acceleration. Also, an engine designed for maximum low speed acceleration does not provide high speed performance. In order to design an engine that provides both low speed acceleration and high speed performance a multi-speed transmission may be used to obtain rapid acceleration so that the boat will reach the planing position for better fuel economy. A multi-speed transmission may have a low gear setting that is used to improve acceleration at low speeds and a high gear setting that is used to maintain top speed. Although multi-speed transmissions are useful, such transmissions require complex programmable electrical controllers and sensors to shift from one gear to another. These multi-speed transmissions also require driver interaction to switch from one gear to another.
The present disclosure is designed to obviate and overcome many of the disadvantages and shortcomings experienced with prior multi-speed transmission systems. Moreover, the present disclosure is related to a propeller driving assembly that automatically shifts between gears without the need for any complex electrical sensing systems. The propeller driving assembly of the present disclosure is also simple to use and automatically shifts from one gear to another without requiring any driver intervention.